Sabarimala: Supreme Court to decide on review petitions today

Mr Nedumpara was mentioning the petition filed by National Ayyappa Devotees Association.

Supreme Court of India (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that it would decide tomorrow as to when the petitions, seeking review of its Sabarimala verdict allowing entry of women of all age groups into the temple, will be listed for hearing.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S.K. Kaul considered the submissions of lawyer Mathews J. Nedumpara that his petition seeking review of the constitutional bench judgment be listed for urgent hearing.

“We know that there are 19 review petitions pending. By tomorrow we will decide,” the bench said.

Mr Nedumpara was mentioning the petition filed by National Ayyappa Devotees Association.

A five-judge constitution bench by a ratio of 4:1 had held that women of all age groups should be allowed entry inside Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple.

The court had on October 9 declined an urgent hearing on Mr Nedumpara’s plea which had contended that the five-judge Constitution bench verdict lifting the ban was “absolutely untenable and irrational”.

The bench had said that the review petitions could only be taken up after the Dussehra vacation, adding that in any case, it will be heard in chamber and not in open court.

The petition filed by Shylaja Vijayan, president, National Ayyappa Devotees Association through Nedumpara, had submitted that, “Faith cannot be judged by scientific or rationale reasons or logic”.

“The notion that the judgment under review is revolutionary, one which removes the stigma or the concept of dirt or pollution associated with menstruation, is unfounded. It is a judgment welcomed by hypocrites who were aspiring for media headlines. On the merits of the case, as well, the said judgment is absolutely untenable and irrational, if not perverse,” the petition had submitted.

Besides the association, another petition seeking review of the September 28 verdict of the apex court had also been filed by the Nair Service Society (NSS), an organisation for the uplift and welfare of the Nair community.